Noelz Vedere says that having Chi-Town acts Chance The Rapper, Lil Durk, Vic Mensa, Lil Bibby on the cover of XXL’s 2014 Freshman issue helps talent from all parts of his Midwestern hometown.

“In my opinion, having four different artists from Chicago on the XXL Freshmen cover is the biggest look our city has had in years,” Noelz Vedere says during an exclusive interview with HipHopDX. “The Freshmen cover is something every upcoming rapper wants to be part of since it shows who’s really making the biggest moves for the culture – being that 11 rappers from here were even nominated for Freshmen positions shows how strong Chicago is to current Hip Hop. The response has been extremely positive to the Freshmen cover. It seems like everyone is now more motivated than ever.”

Chicago Rap has experienced several generations of rappers, from Twista and Common in the early 1990s to Do Or Die, Crucial Conflict and Twista again in the mid 1990s to Kanye West and Twista in the mid-2000s. Noelz says host of emerging Windy City rappers in the last several years have generated another wave of excitement surrounding the city’s rap scene.

“Chicago has been on an upward trajectory since 2012 when [Chief] Keef first dropped, followed up by Chance in 2013, and now everyone out here wants that next top stop – including myself of course,” says Noelz Vedere, who is slated to release his Bittersweet Victory project tomorrow (May 20). “I honestly don’t see the momentum stopping any time soon. Vic Mensa deserves all the success he can possibly get. He is a very talented and diverse artist that holds a non stop work ethic. Artists like him getting big exposure just opens up the flood gates for even more real talent to pour in.”

Noelz Vedere’s “King Me” video featuring Rockie Fresh and Vic Mensa, which was released in 2012, is as follows: